All Issues

Mechanical pruning of lemon trees leaves stubs around which buds sprout, producing vegetative growth which is usually unwanted. Hand pruning, which selectively removes unwanted limbs, does not cause as many buds to sprout, since pruning cuts are usually made at laterals. However, pruning of any kind causes a vegetative growth flush, and an immediate reduction in yield. On mature trees it would be of economic benefit on some occasions to stop, or at least reduce, this growth flush. Removal of trunk sprouts is important especially during the formative years, or if high scaffold limbs are desired.

Field budding of grapevines has been practiced for years, especially in non-irrigated areas. The resistant rootstock becomes established more quickly and its roots explore the soil more quickly when it has its own top, rather than when it is a benchgraft with a different leaf system.

A seeding-rate and Rhizobium-inoculation trial with alfalfa was established in Tulare County in 1972-73. The purpose of the trial was to examine stand persistence under three different seeding rates, and also to look at the effectiveness of inoculating the seed with the proper Rhizobium sp. (nitrogen fixing bacteria). The Rhizobizmz bacteria infect the root hairs of the alfalfa plant and develop into nodules in the roots. These nodules are responsible for “fixing” atmospheric nitrogen and changing it into a form that can be utilized by the plant.